A Softer Worldwas a webcomic that Emily Horn and Joey Comeau created in 2003. It began humorously – sometimes dark, sometimes silly, and sometimes both – and went on to explore all the intricacies of existentialism. The format of placing blocks of type over photographs was beautifully simple. But the photos were artistically shot and edited by Emily and the type was intellectually cheeky. Many of the strips deal with humanity’s big dilemmas like death and love, provoking the reader to grapple with uneasy concepts but always softening the blow with a good punchline. Animals were frequently used to project intensely human thought, or juxtaposed them against beautiful landscapes. Emily and Joey created over 1,248 strips over twelves years, all of which are archived on their website.
If you grew up a huge fan of Calvin and Hobbes like I did then you would definitely appreciate A Softer World. Emily and Joey take big ideas and wrap them up in humorous little packages with a nack I haven’t seen since Bill Watterson. Both comics are attempting to teach the same lesson, that life is filled with mundanity and melancholy and if you can’t find the humor in it all then what’s the point? So next time you’re having an existential meltdown, scroll through A Softer World to ease your mind.
New Favorite Brand is a monthly series where The Indubitable highlights brands that not only make beautiful merchandise, but they do it with integrity and adherence to progressive values. The focus will be on smaller and/or newer brands that aren’t household names yet but should be.
The COVID-19 global pandemic hit the garment production industry as hard as anyone else. The global supply chain came to a halt in Spring 2020 and the workers at the beginning of the chain have been hit the hardest. Asian garment production facilities were already rife with human rights violations before the pandemic caused most of the industry to shut down all together. The igregious state of the system and its catastrophic collapse were both results of a global garment production industry that has been spiraling out of control for the past half century. Fast Fashion’s breakneck production speed exacerbated existing problems and doomed the entire industry. If the global garment industry was a pile of old rags, then Fast Fashion soaked the pile in lighter fluid before COVID-19 tossed a lit match on it.
The only hope for the future of the garment industry is if lessons are learned from mistakes made and a wiser system rises from the ashes. Fortunately, hope comes from existing brands that have pioneered modern business models based on classic (sometimes ancient) production techniques, environmental sustainability, fair payment and treatment of labor, and progressive marketing and distribution techniques. Kardo is a prime example of just such a company.
Kardo was founded in 2013 in New Delhi, India. India’s rich textile heritage is reflected in Kardo’s garments . They source “traditional weaving, dying and printing techniques for their collections, using fabrics such as Natural Dyed Handloom, Block Printing, IKAT, Natural Indigo Denim, Shibori and Chikankari embroidery.” These fabrics are hand cut and sewn into finished garments using Kardo’s ONExONE process where each step is done by a single artisan. Every piece produced has a tag listing the names of who performed each step. This extra effort is made to stress the humanity involved in garment production upon the end purchaser. The people who made your shirt have names, they’re listed here.
Midland is the Best Dressed Band in Country and Here’s Why
Midland at the 2018 CMA Awards (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for CMT)
A long time ago, in a Nashville lost to time and commercial interests, Country Music stars were style icons. Much of what we think of as classic Rock and Roll style from the 1970s was pilfered from Country artists. The mash up of classic cowboy gear with tailored suiting was part of the country scene going all the way back to the 1940s. Denim shirts, boot cut jeans, fringe jackets, embroidered everything, and cowboy boots all made their way into popular fashion during the 1970s through Country Music. Once high fashion and Hollywood adopted the look it became timelessly cool.
Unfortunately, popular Country style went awry in the 1990s. Somewhere between Billy Ray Cyrus’s mullet and Garth Brook’s midwestern dad look, Country artists adopted a pedestrian style. For the past couple decades, most of the men in country music have settled into a bro style of jeans, t-shirts and trucker hats. Perhaps this transition was meant to make the artists more approachable and keep their look in line with the commonality of their music. But it simply isn’t becoming of a professional musician and disrespects the rich heritage of Country Music’s fashion.
A young Dwight Yoakam
Country’s aesthetic was not lost completely, however, as a handful of artists kept the torch burning for the past thirty years. Foremost among these keepers of the flame is Dwight Yoakam. Along with being an iconic musician and accomplished actor, Yoakam has represented Country’s style heritage throughout his career (showcased here in GQ Style). His wardrobe has consisted of popped collar denim jackets, tight fitting boot-cut jeans with a massive flair, embroidered rodeo shirts, tailored shirts, suiting jackets and vests, fringed leather jackets, giant belt buckles, and always a ten gallon hat.
It appears that Yoakam and the Old Nashville style he represents had a strong influence on many in the newest generation of Country artists. Leading the charge for Country’s style renaissance is a three-man act from Texas by the name of Midland. Their aesthetic is a combination of a 1970s honkytonk bar and a 2000s Brooklyn thrift shop. Embroidered suits are worn over vintage t-shirts. Skinny jeans flair out over snake skin cowboy boots. Wide brimmed hats are worn over shoulder length hair. Camp collared shirts drape open, with four buttons undone, to reveal dangling gold chains. Midland have developed a look befitting Country Music stars.
My Frye Smith Engineers are my favorite shit kickers
My first boss at J.Crew taught me a lot about the fashion industry and being a leader but my favorite thing that he taught me is the idiom “shit kickers.” This term of endearment refers to an old pair of shoes that have been beaten to perfection. It resonates with anyone, such as myself, that has held on to some shoes for what others may perceive as too long. The thing is though, that they were actually still very much in their prime.
The measure of a truly great shoe is improvement with age. They get more comfortable as they mold to your foot, getting supple in all the right places. They carry marks and deformities from past experiences like proud battle scars. Time varnishes them with a rich patina that simply could not be replicated by anything other than countless miles traveled on your feet. Like a loyal companion, you’ve come a long way together and you couldn’t bear the thought of parting.
Fast Times at Ridgemont High featured a large ensemble cast meant to represent a typical American high school student body in 1980. The story was written as a coming of age tale that follows a pair of sophomores and a pair of juniors through a single school year. These fours students were meant to carry the film as the older pair misguides the younger pair with false wisdom. That was until Sean Penn got cast as the burnout surfer Jeff Spicoli and proceeded to steal the show. Penn slipped into his now legendary method acting process and became Spicoli for the entire shoot. Having grown up surfing in Malibu, California, Penn contributed enormously to the development of the character. As part of the development, Penn provided most of Spicoli’s iconic Southern California surfer wardrobe, including the check checkboard slip-on Vans.
Fast Times began as a book written by Cameron Crowe. In the late 1970s, when Crowe was in his early twenties, he went undercover as a student Clairemont High School in San Diego. The legendary Rolling Stone writer wanted to document the lives of typical American teenagers at the time. According to Crowe, Spicoli was based entirely on one particular student who required no embellishment. When casting began to turn the book into a film, Penn claims that the character leapt off the page to him as he read the book and screenplay. He grew up with someone who was the personification of Spicoli just as Crowe had written him. When Penn went to audition for the part, he claimed that he didn’t need to run any lines because we was Jeff Spicoli and Crowe hired him based off his enthusiasm.
The characterization of Spicoli began with Penn’s physique at the time. His shoulder length blond hair, deep tan, and sinewy build exemplified the SoCal surfer of the 1970s. Penn and costume designer Marilyn Vance adorned that frame with a wardrobe resembling a Venice Beach thrift shop. The surfer-burnout vibe projected as much from Spicoli’s outfits as it did from his stoner drawl and slack demeanor. His outfits looked thrown together with the same reckless abandon with which he lived his life. Nothing ever really matches, crossing genres and seasons, and yet it all haphazardly falls into place as Spicoli’s life seems to.
Spicoli’s most approachable look comes from his initial showdown with Mr. Hand (Below Left). He put a green Lacoste polo over a long sleeve tee (an essential piece in any surfers wardrobe). Lacoste invented the polo as a tennis shirt and it has remained ubiquitously cool for nearly a century now. The swim trunks were probably left on from an early surf session before school, a theory supported by the wet hair. Of course, the sneakers are his trademark checkoard Vans.
In a subsequent battle with Mr. Hand, Spicoli is wearing a blanket hoodie (Below Right). This fundamental piece of surfer apparel goes back almost as far as surfing in California. Legend has it that back in the 1960s, surfers started wearing ponchos from Mexico after crossing the border on surf trips. Eventually they Americanized the ponchos by adding hoods and sleeves to provide extra warmth. The distinct blanket-like fabric was not only warm and comfortable but it provided a distinct look that became an essential piece of beach culture. While you can pick one up at any surf shop in the world, Faherty offers some great options on their website.
“If I’m here and you’re here, doesn’t that make it our time”
The movie fittingly culminates with Ridgemont High’s prom where all of the characters reach the end of their story arcs. For Spicoli that means one final confrontation with Mr. Hand as he attempts to help Spicoli pass his history class. We are treated to a happy ending as the slacker student and authoritarian teacher meet halfway and Spicoli passes his final exam. All the while, Spicoli is dressed in a hawaiian shirt, white slacks and a perfectly horrible 70s tie. Hawaiian shirts entered the American wardrobe by way of California surfers after WWII. Their popularity has ebbed and flowed since then and it is certainly at high tide right now. Practically every brand is making some variation on Hawaiian shirts today but Avanti has been making them since the 1930s. A great rule to follow in fashion is that if the original is still doing it best then that’s who you should go with.
In the last scene of the film, Brad tells Spicoli that he should get a job so that he can have money. In response, Spicoli philosophically sums himself up in one brilliant sentence. “All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I’ll be fine.” He only needs enough pocket change to feed himself because money isn’t important to him. The thrills of life are what make Spicoli happy. The same free spirited whimsy applies to his wardrobe. He only wears what makes him happy and doesn’t put too much thought into it. Style is all about self expression and few characters in cinematic history have expressed themselves through their wardrobe as effectively as Spicoli.
